Monday, November 5, 2007

4-csw, ug, vf, and prince's trust

most of the underground garage CSW’s (coolest songs in the world) are worthy of the note, the reward, and the airplay. but on certain lucky weeks along comes a recording that sums up the parts of the best of our game. "baby du jour" is one such ditty. the artist is roy loney & the longshots and "baby du jour" is culled from their september 18th, MM7 outing,"shake it or leave it" on career records. this record is real and off the floor. it has swamp, slide, shimmy and glimmer and it is oh so pro and relaxed and in the pocket of groove; i feel like a pointer sister. in as many words, “i'm so excited”. you can hear the room and the camaraderie of a nod, a wink and friendly persuasion. huge loog congrats to the writers - mr. loney and larry rea; the producers, mr L and the multi-accomplished living specie, deniz tek; and the band on this track: loney - vocals, guitar, jim sangster – guitar, deniz tek – guitar, scott mccaughey – bass, and graham black on drums.

the cut is so darn evocative of huey smith, specialty records, eddie cochran and as said, it's so off the floor and live. i have nothing against machines, although i prefer them when they are giving power to tape. given the less than sexy recent efforts of tom petty and bob seger both those gents and their producers should lend an ear to mr. loney. he shows it can still be done. i wish it well.

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steven van zandt is in the biz of entertainment. UG fans will be pleased to note that the UG will be entertaining and live again every wednesday following halloween at the hawaiian tropic zone, just north of new york's times square at 49th and 7th avenue. stay tuned to the UG and www.undergroundgarage.com for shows and acts coming up.

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an unlikely pairing would seem to be paul mccartney and the wayward straw, pete doherty...not so. have a read of this meeting of the two rockers: click here.

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whilst on the subject of reading check out this month's VANITY FAIR. the cover is off-putting, a less than live B &W shot of former president, john f. kennedy and his wife jacqueline the o. however, the inside has a lot of good reads. there’s an extract from the new eric clapton biography that is direct and compelling.

( i saw eric last night on larry king. it's a must for clapton fans. larry pushes the envelope of taste as to how much he dwelt on the death of clapton's son conor, but clapton dealt with it well. he has a maturity that he's taking to the road the way sinatra did in the late 70's). it would seem that daily we recover from what we've done, what we have done unto others and what has and what we perceive was done unto us. eric deals with it all first hand and on track. he does so from the point of view of being in recovery every day. i share that disease (alcoholism and addiction), with eric and so many others. clapton handles it like a man.

you might think, why not? well, read the extract, and perhaps buy the book. you'll read how clapton has handled his gift, his "being god", his tempestuous relationships with himself and " les dames" , various band mates, his triads of fame, the tragedy of loss like a well-spoken, under-spoken man of enough and occasional steel. i applaud him for his john ford-ness. if his music has ever ouched you, if you cannot touch booze or aspirin without losing it, if you've lived a charmed life this book's for you. there's also an accompanying 2 disc set called complete clapton.

in the same VANITY FAIR issue there is a great tom stoppard piece on syd barrett; dominick dunne on the latest on the phil spector murder trial; the incredible story of the fall from grace of boy band manager lou pearlman (though some might say just managing the acts he did was a fall from grace) who milked the bands, bilked the public and is about to have a day in court. the issue has the usual articles on the middle east excesses of haliburton; the bush government and KBR that you can read at your own peril and/or disgust and a very moving piece by christopher hitchens about a young enlisted american army officer, 21 year old mark daily, who was killed this past new year.

also in the VF issue is a piece on serge gainsbourg. the french elf-like-gremlin with a way with words and women. a fascinating lyricist and painter of sounds extraordinaire. he was an institution in france...like a tom waits who had become as big as clint black...underground mainstream. there are similarities with clapton; gainsbourg could not give up the drink and died at the age of 62. of all the french composers and singers gainsbourg is the one who brought the rhythm and cultures of the world unto france. he added his own way with words and gave france a musical canvas so brilliant, dark, and bright; the likes of which it will not see again. he only "pooped" in the rest of the world once. in 66 when he recorded " je t' aime... moi non plus", first with brigitte bardot, then with jane birkin.

finally, for today, i was watching prince charles and his two sons on an A & E repeat of this summer’s London, "prince's trust concert"; a charitable venture by the prince that does amazingly good things for the ghettokiddies of the UK by providing work and entrepreneurial opportunities. these come via grants, as in cash, that the country itself no longer provides. the interview was coming to an end and the subject of music came up when suddenly out of nowhere prince charles chimes in with "have you heard of this chappie leonard cohen ? amazing poet, lovely songs, wonderful voice." his two sons looked at him as if he were daft , or perhaps they had no idea who leonard cohen was. i love leonard cohen and i warms the cockles of my musical heart to know that his mood and solace has cheered the man who may not be king.

Everybody Must Get Stoned

The Underground Garage is proud to introduce another feature in our ongoing efforts at increasing the level of communication between Steven, the UG crew and you, the listener. The first DJ aboard is Andrew Loog Oldham. Andrew broadcasts on weekdays from 8-11am EST, Saturday from 4-8pm, and Sunday from 12-4pm. He started his life as a PR for early UK rock'n roll tours representing the Beatles; Chris Montez; Little Eva; Gerry & the Pacemakers; Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas ; Sam Cooke; Little Richard and the first UK visit of Bob Dylan. From 1963 to 67 he managed and produced the Rolling Stones and Marianne Faithfull. His Immediate Records gave the world important recordings by the Small Faces; John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers ; Rod Stewart; Chris Farlowe; the Nice ; P.P. Arnold; Jimmy Page; Jeff Beck; Eric Clapton; the Amen Corner; the McCoys ; the Strangeloves; the Keith Richard Aranbee Orchestra; Humble Pie. He has recorded Jimmy Cliff; Donovan; los Ratones Paranoicos; the Andrew Oldham Orchestra and Charly Garcia. He is the author of two acclaimed editions of autobiography, Stoned & 2Stoned and brings that wealth of experience daily to the very foundation of the UG. Enjoy !